Monday, April 6, 2009

I Remember What it Was to Feel

Before anything else is discussed in this post, please check the comments for the post that proceeds this one. I think I always want to believe that Forever Breathes the Lonely Word was Lawrence/Deebank era Felt, but it is not. I honestly think that somewhere along the way I learned that, and just for whatever reason let my mental Felt time-line slip away from accuracy. Also, in my sleep deprived state I did not do my proper research for that post. Sigh, my sincere apologies, but since this truly inexcusable error was corrected by Mr. Fire Escape Talking there is a wealth of information in his comment that you should all be sure to check out. Thus my suspicion that I should really know better than to think I am informed enough at this point to offer an opinion on anything Felt, or Felt related has been confirmed. I can assure you it won't happen again. Though the idea that I might one day sequester myself away from society with nothing but Felt records, and printed information about the band in order to fully absorb it all is never out of the question for me...

I am currently in the process of composing a review of the most recent Thermals album, Now We Can See for Radio Free Silver Lake. Oddly, this has just been one thing (musically anyway) in a not short line of things that have brought me back me back to those days where I listened to music, and I felt things. Uncomfortable things, embarrassing things, real things overall... I suppose... I don't know, it's an odd thing to discuss.

But this blog is supposed to be my free space, where I can discuss things that I would not prefer to discuss otherwise. I knew that before I got into the knew Thermals record, I would have to listen to a few of the songs on Fucking A that made me pay attention to that band in the first place. Particularly the song, "A Stare Like Yours." I can't remember the last time that I had actual romantic feelings for someone until I listen to this song. Enough time has passed for me not to feel those things anymore, but hearing the song is enough to remind me that I was once capable of such things. Strange. I close my eyes when I'm listening to that song, and it makes me feel dizzy, like the sheer force of it might knock me over at any moment. I think thisk this has more to do with the song itself than it does with the memory, but to be completely honest I really have no idea.

On Monday I was taking part in my normal volunteer shift at KCRW. As is so often the case when I'm at the station for the program Morning Becomes Eclectic there was live music in the third hour of the show. I've seen some really good performances during my time there, but every now and then an artist will come along i find myself terribly excited about. Such was the case this past Monday when Raphael Saadiq came through the studio. He did release one of my favorite songs last year after all. His set was remarkably stripped down, featuring only himself on vocals and guitar, and Rob Bacon on second guitar. I was initially kind of bummed not to hear "Seven," but I did figure that it would probably lose a bit of it's impact without the drums so not hearing it was likely for the best. I'll simply have to hope that I get to hear that one when he plays with a full band at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. Back to the acoustic set though, I could not believe how lost I found myself in the songs that were being presented right in front of me. The setting is almost disturbingly intimate for songs with so much soul. You find yourself separated from the performers by a not terribly thick pane of glass, and not too much distance at all. I thought that must look insane. I wondered if anyone was noticing how idiotic I looked. "Oh God," I thought at one point, "Am I keeping correct rhythm?" Because there was no way that I was going to be able to stop myself from tapping along. Then I remembered that none of this really mattered. No one in the studio that day was paying attention to my reactions, and even if they were, this is how people often react to music! People don't just have abstract feelings about pop songs as I so often do, they take them in, and react to them personally. Now why had it taken me so long to remember that? Why did it take two such vastly different facets of pop music that happened to be on my mind during the same week to remind me?

Heightened emotions perhaps? The same radio station is letting me take control of their airwaves for a few late night/early morning hours in about a week. I've just been informed that my official KCRW DJ bio (!) is now online. I haven't mentioned it here yet because it just hasn't quite seemed real. Linking to that bio makes it seem slightly more real. However, I don't think that it will actually feel real until sometime in the hour between 3 and 4 A.M. (Pacific time) on April 19th when it finally hits me that I am playing songs, and people are hearing them in their cars!

If you are o.k. with listening to a radio show from the girl who can't keep her Felt line-ups straight, then you can do so by going here, and where it prompts you to select a channel to listen online, chose the option that says "Live." As I mentioned this will take place from 3 A.M. to 6 A.M. on April 19th here in California. It will be archived as well. The time slot is unofficially referred to as the Lab, so you can look up archived shows that way. I will be sharing the time with two other DJs so after that first show I'll be on every three weeks or so. Any requests?